The city of Silves has been busy brightening up its streets thanks to the brilliant grafitti art work of Hélder José (known as ‘Bamby’), and Filipe Gusmão, of Style Spectrum:

They have been busy transforming the area in front of the Municipal Library, near to the Praca Al-Muthamid gardens – and the results are fabulous.

The theme fits perfectly with the annual Medieval Fair which regular readers of our blog will know that we love – it’s definitely one of the highlights of the annual Algarve calendar for us. The mural focuses on the two central characters of D. Sancho and Al-Mu’tamid, both of whom play important roles in the history of the city of Silves.

Silves was the capital of the Algarve during the period of Arab rule, and Al-Mu’tamid, the poet-king, ruled there from 1052 to 1088. It would be amazing to be able to see how grand the city would have been at that time, trading right across the Mediterranean peninsula. The first Christian conquest dates back to 1189 under the rule of the Portuguese Christian Monarch D. Sancho, (1185-1211) but the final take-over would only take place in 1249, when D. Afonso III led the Algarve conquest.

You can still feel the tangible history of this fabulous city as you walk around the streets and see the architecture and old city walls, which seem to blend so well with the more modern buildings. The new mural adds even more drama and colour to an already vibrant and fascinating area.

Rosa Palma, the President of the Municipality, outlined the positive approach the council has on introducing art and culture to the area, and was quoted as saying it was their desire “to bring more color and more pieces of urban art to Silves, so that we can all have greater respect for the space where we live and circulate.”

Hélder José, or ‘Bamby’, is also half of the creative talent behind the transformed electric boxes in Carvoeiro – you can read more about them here via this link:

Carvoeiro Boxes – Bringing Colour to Carvoeiro

And for lovers of the Silves’ Medieval Fair – the dates this year have been published – it’s going to be on from the 11-20 August – you can click here or the banner below to view the event’s Facebook page – we can’t wait!